Between us
by Kalivax
Summary: Dante comforts our dear Demifiend before their final confrontation. Just a little 'Whatif' talk between the two...slash.[Shin Megami Tensei:Nocturne]...spoilers for ending of the game...sorta...


Hey guys, thought I'd post this since it's been floating around LJ since forever. Standard Slash this time between Naoki(shu) and Dante. Mentions of one sided Isamu/Naoki and all that jazz...This is a basic 'what-if' Naoki and Dante have a little talk before they restart the world--to my knowledge, the only way to really recruit Dante is to side with chaos, so the possibility of getting Neutral and have everything going back to normal is fairly low--much artistic license was taken...

Standard Disclaimer of Death: If I owned the SMT franchise, I would somehow be able to read and speak Japanese--which would lead met o finally being able to play Persona 2:Innocent Sin (which still needs to be brought over here damn it! ) and the always pretty Persona 3--seeing as how that isn't the case and I'm a poor student and not a wealthy video game designer then obviously one can be lead to their own conclusions here...

* * *

**Between Us **

Dante watched as the so feared 'Demi-fiend' Kiba paused before opening the door. Ever since, he had decided to join the kid on a whim, he never ceased to impress-even when he didn't mean to.

"Well?" Dante prompted as the younger leaned his head on the surface, face concentrated in thought. "I know...its just, give me a minute, I have to basically go in there and kill him—" he murmured, not moving still, "at least Hikawa I didn't like to begin with or know very well..."

Dante noticed something and decided to appease his curiosity a little: "You two were more than friends, weren't you?"

He was rewarded with a thwack from Pixie, who despite being so tiny, thanks to her last power up, packed enough so it hurt him a little.

"Don't ask such personal questions so freely!" she scolded, her maternal instincts kicking in once again. Dante frowned, but he was soon interrupted: "It was one sided."

Both turned to see Kiba walk calmly from the door, plopping unceremoniously in front of them. "He was so dumb...he never noticed...I practically threw myself at him sometimes," he laughed bitterly, "even Chikai knew, she was always going on about I was her friend, and I should give up and find a nice girl...blah...I never listened to her much anyway...she was so noisy..."

Dante smirked. Yet another change, really this kid was something else. With a slight chuckle, he dropped next to him, and motioned with his hand.

"Continue, oh great leader Kiba," he ignored the pointed glare the other shot him, and seeing as how the two weren't going to be moving for a while, Pixie motioned for the other demons in the troupe to leave the two alone.

"Isamu's always liked our teacher, ever since he first met her," Kiba continued, as he noticed his followers drop back a little, "and before that he liked another girl. And another. And another...despite the way he dressed, he was straight as a ruler."

"Funny, I've only seen the guy once, he seems more like the type to be in your position—he's really emotional..." Dante picked his words carefully, gauging his companion's reaction, "you do know, that if we don't continue on, all this has been for nothing. Running around Tokyo, going thru that damn Labyrinth from Hell-literally, fighting those annoying other fiends, your friend who shacked up in that Terminal dying, getting a new for-"

"I know," a solid glare backing what he said, "I know. It's just—between you and me...its pathetic, but I never got over him. He's not the same I know—no one is. I guess it's cause I've been so focused on him for such a long time...I have no one else really..."

Dante's smirk turned into a devilish grin. "Oh really?" he prompted, voice dropping a few octaves in a successful aim at being seductive, "have you ever gave anyone else a chance?"

Kiba looked away, hiding the tiny blush on his face. "Stop it already," he scowled, still not looking him in the eyes.

"But seriously, Kid, have you ever gave anyone else a chance?" Dante noted with some amusement that the younger of the two was actually considering it.

"No. I haven't."

"Exactly," he nodded pleased, "tell you what, we kick this guy's ass, and I help you get over him, deal? He's not even the same Isamu you liked anyway..."

The 'great Demi-fiend' sighed. Slowly he rose to his feet. "We're not getting any younger," he offered his hand, "let's go."

Dante accepted it and then noticed with a twinge of annoyance that Pixie was hovering dangerously close to hearing distance.

Kiba noted it too, and rolled his eyes: "Pixie, get everyone back here! Let's go!"...

It had turned into an long and bloody battle. Isamu and his god merging half way thru only made things worse.

"Oh no, its changing its weakness again!" Pixie pointed out the monster before them baring Isamu's face shimmered once more.

Dante decided to go with gut instinct and aimed. Jumping high enough he let loose a barrage of gunfire, then withdrew his sword.

Kiba, watching frozen oddly between stopping him or helping him, muttered the attack name in synchronously with Dante: "Showtime."

The final blow caused the monster shimmer once more and Kiba watched, still frozen as it melted away and his friend—no Nitta Isamu slowly looked up at them.

Dante tilted his head to look at Kiba. Expecting him to suddenly declare his love in the last moments, run over and kiss the daylights out of the other, sing a song, anything to tell the other his feelings. But, noticed the other calmly walking up and slowly and coldly saying: "Good bye. Nitta-san. I'm sorry."

Dante, tuned out the rest of their conversation, and it wasn't till they were making their way past the corpse of Chikai, did Kiba speak up.

"I don't know why I chose to help that old man and little boy," he informed softly to Dante on his right, "I know they don't plan to recreate the world at all, and that I'm just as bad as them for helping because all they want is chaos yet—I just did. Because I couldn't agree with anyone, and I needed allies."

"What brought this on?" the elder of the two questioned, expression unreadable.

"No idea," Kiba admitted, "I just wanted that off my chest. I didn't join my friends cause I didn't agree with what they were doing and what they believed. I couldn't really stay neutral forever and every time I helped some one here in this crazy world, they always got hurt or massacred."

"The manikins are always going to get into trouble, don't beat yourself up for it," Dante informed, "plus, you used that bell thing-y to revive their leader right? and he agreed to help us."

Kiba side glanced at Futomimi who was talking to Loki. Both seemed unaware that they were being watched and were now arguing:

"I told you to drop the subject!"

"You're just angry because I'm right!"

"Go put clothes on, you sick pervert!"

"When you give into hormones, you prude!"

Kiba shook his head. "Nice to see those two are lively, they act like Chikai and Isamu," he shook his head once more, "nope--they're not even half as bad..."

"Hey kid, I've been meaning to ask you," Kiba looked up as they reached a cube elevator, "what are you going to do with this world?"

Kiba paused.

"I...I don't know, I don't want to change it...well...I just want it to return to what it once was, I don't want it to be anything..." he thought aloud, "so many people died and so much killing goes on here, even more so than the human world. Sometimes I wish it was back to normal..."

Dante didn't respond, and just as they were about to open the door to the Katsuguchi waiting inside, he pulled the other aside.

"Kid, I like you, kay? so I'll help you- no seriously listen," he held up his hand in a un-Dante way and continued, "when this is all over, try as hard as you can to hope for a world just like yours, all right? and also-"

He charmingly pushed his lips down over the boy's. Immediately, a spark of pleasure was shared between the two and slowly Dante found himself pressing his tongue into Kiba's mouth.

He pulled back, breathlessly and gave a roguish grin:

"That's so you have incentive to find me, when the world is new again."

Kiba brushed his lips with his fingers, still awe-truck.

"Come on Naoki, its time," and Dante grabbed his hand and together they walked thru the door...

--Owari--


End file.
